# Tag Info

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Martin Hoecker-Martinez's Answer is correct for perfectly noiseless observations of a two body Kepler system, i.e. the force between the bodies is directed along the vector linking them and the force magnitude follows and inverse square law with distance. An alternative to Martin's answer is that perfectly known position and velocity will determine all ...

10

An ideal Kepplerian orbit is defined by six (6) parameters: angular momentum (3) total energy (1) Laplace–Runge–Lenz vector which is perpendicular to angular momentum (2) Therefore you need at least six (6) independent observations. Astronomical observations are direction (but not range usually) given by a pair (2) of angles therefore three (3) ...

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The little $h$ is a historical artifact, one that will probably die out soon enough. The thing is, $H_0$ was extremely difficult to measure precisely for many decades after its importance was realized. At some point, cosmologists were divided between the "$H_0 = 50\ \mathrm{km/s/Mpc}$" and the "$H_0 = 100\ \mathrm{km/s/Mpc}$" camps. Because the quantity ...

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The flux to which the jansky refers can be in any form of energy. It was created for and is still most frequently used in reference to electromagnetic energy, especially in the context of radio astronomy. The brightest astronomical radio sources have flux densities of the order of one to one hundred janskys. For example, the Third Cambridge Catalogue of ...

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An infinite number of observations are needed because a comet does not have a well defined orbit. It is strongly deflected from ideal Newtonian orbits by outgassing, solar wind etc., so if you want to know where it is, and especially where it will be, at a given time in the future, you have to keep observing.

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